The 2018 Albany Word Fest is Almost Here

The 2018 Albany Word Fest is right around the corner. In just 10 days our week-long celebration of the poetry and spoken word kicks off at the Hudson River Coffee House.

Once again this year we have a little something for everyone – featured performances, open mics, the launch of the sixth edition of Up The River, the 24-hour Readings Against the End of the World, and the just announced 6th Annual Word Fest Invitational Slam.

A Festival of Featured Poets and Performances

The week begins on Monday, April 16, with The Word Fest Night of Features – an evening of poetry and prose featuring regional poets and writers Harvey Havel, Danielle Pouliot, Adam Tedesco, Joe Krausman, Poetyc Visionz, and Olivia McKee, hosted by Brian Dorn at the Hudson River Coffee House.

On Wednesday. April 18, we head over to Restaurant Navona for Albany Poets Presents. For the 2018 Word Fest edition, we welcome local poet, writer, artist, and performer D. Colin to share her work and then take questions from the audience about life, inspirations, writing, and more.

For the third reading of the week, poet W.D. Clarke is the featured reader at the Third Thursday Poetry Night at the Social Justice Center on Central Avenue. There will be an open mic before and after the feature for poets to share their work.

RAEW Young Writers
Saturday, April 21st 9–11 am.
Sign up: Parents can sign up children under 16 during one of the ½ hour blocks. We are currently accepting about 10 readers for each ½ hour block (9:00-9:30, 9:30-10:00, 10:00-10:30, and 10:30-11:00). Young writers may read prose, poetry, or a favorite author. Please make sure your young writer’s material is appropriate for a youth audience. Email Prose.poetry.and.more@gmail.com to register and more information

Sunday Slam!

Finally, on Sunday, April 22, the 2018 Albany Word Fest comes to an end as Nitty Gritty Slam welcomes teams from all over the Northeast to compete for prizes and bragging rights in the 6th Annual Word Fest Invitational Slam starting at 2:00 p.m. at Troy Kitchen in downtown Troy. This event is the perfect exclamation point on an amazing week of open mics, featured readings, and dynamic poetry and spoken word.

The 2018 Albany Word Fest is sponsored by Albany Poets, English Department at UAlbany, Hudson Valley Writers Guild, Restaurant Navona, The Low Beat, McGeary’s Irish Pub, The Social Justice Center, Troy Kitchen, and the very generous donations of supporters of the arts in upstate New York.

About Albany Poets

Albany Poets mission is to give everyone the platform to share their poetry with the world. Whether it is at an open mic, on a website, or in print, Albany Poets strives to integrate poetry and spoken word into the Capital Region. Read More